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The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís
of the United States and Canada
General Office: Evergreen Cabin, West Englewood, New Jersey
THE ORDINANCE OF FASTING[edit]
A Letter from Shoghi Effendi[edit]
As regards fasting, it constitutes, together with the obligatory prayers, the two pillars that sustain the revealed Law of God. They act as stimulants to the soul, strengthen, revive and purify it, and thus insure its steady development.
The ordinance of fasting is, as is the case with these three prayers,* a spiritual and vital obligation enjoined by Bahá’u’lláh upon every believer who has attained the age of fifteen. In the Aqdas He thus writes: “We have commanded you to pray and fast from the beginning of maturity; this is ordained by God, your Lord and the Lord of your forefathers. He has exempted from this those who are weak from illness or age, as a bounty from His Presence, and He is the Forgiving, the Generous.” And in another passage He says: “We have enjoined upon you fasting during a brief period, and at its close have designated for you Naw-Ruz as a feast.... The traveler, the ailing, those who are with child or giving suck, are not bound by the fast... Abstain from food and drink, from sunrise to sundown, and beware lest desire deprive you of this grace that is appointed in the Book.”
Also in the “Questions and Answers” that form an appendix to the Aqdas, Bahá’u’lláh reveals the following: “Verily, I say that God has appointed a great station for fasting and prayer. But during good health its benefit is evident, and when one is ill, it is not permissible to fulfill them.” Concerning the age of maturity, He reveals in the appendix of that same book: “The age of maturity is in the fifteenth year: women and men are alike in this respect.”
Regarding the vital character and importance of the Divine ordinances and laws, and the necessity of complete obedience to them by the believers, we thus read in the Gleanings, p. 175: “Know verily that the essence of justice and the source thereof are both embodied in the ordinance prescribed by Him Who is the Manifestation of the Self of God amongst men, if ye be of them that recognize this truth. He doth verily incarnate the highest, the infallible standard of justice unto all creation. Were His law to be such as to strike terror into the hearts of all that are in heaven and on earth, that law is naught but manifest justice. The fears and agitation which the revelation of this law provoke in men’s hearts should indeed be likened to the cries of the suckling babe weaned from his mother’s milk, if ye be of them that perceive ...”
The fasting period, which lasts nineteen days starting as a rule from the second of March every year and ending on the twentieth of the same month, involves complete abstention from food and drink from sunrise till sunset. It is essentially a period of meditation and prayer, of spiritual recuperation, during which the believer must strive to make the necessary readjustments in his inner life, and to refresh and reinvigorate the spiritual forces latent in his soul. Its significance and purpose are, therefore, fundamentally spiritual in character. Fasting is symbolic, and a reminder of abstinence from selfish and carnal desires—Shoghi Effendi, through his secretary, Haifa, January 10, 1936.
THE GUARDIAN’S ASSURANCE TO THE DONORS TO THE MT. CARMEL FUND[edit]
The following references to the sums forwarded to Haifa by the National Treasurer for purchase of land on Mount Carmel convey the Guardian’s assurance of his appreciation of the assistance rendered by all the American believers who contributed to the National Fund for that purpose.
“He very much appreciates, indeed, the spirit of self-sacrifice and devotion which the American believers have so remarkably displayed through their contributions to the Mt. Carmel fund. Their splendid efforts during the last few years, and especially in connection with the purchase of the property of the Dumits last year, have now resulted in the safeguarding of an extensive area of land around the Shrines. It is surely a great privilege for the American friends to have had such a preponderating share in securing for the Cause assets that are most valuable, nay, quite indispensable, to the future development and present consolidation of its manifold institutions at its world center.”
(In the Guardian’s hand.) “Will you kindly assure the individual contributors to the sum which you have forwarded of my abiding and lively appreciation of their spontaneous and self-sacrificing assistance and efforts for the protection and promotion of the international interests of the Faith at its world center. I am fully aware of the self-abnegation which such contributions must have involved, and of the spirit of unstinted devotion which has invariably prompted them. I will pray that the Beloved may abundantly bless and reward them both in this world and in the next.”
- (signed) SHOGHI.
- Haifa, November 24, 1935.
THE PROGRESS OF OUR TEACHING SERVICE[edit]
Since the striking of the “New Hour” of the progress of the Bahá’í Faith on this continent, the American believers have been growing steadily more conscious that unseen forces are creating universal interest in the Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh. The task of
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* The three obligatory daily prayers, any one of
which the believer is free to choose.
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raising high the standard of the Faith
in this vast land lies clearly before us;
and pressingly so. As we become more
truly “instruments in the Hands of
God,” will the spirit itself direct our
efforts and open the way.
In approaching our new responsibilities in the teaching field, it is important we realize what a prolific ocean has been provided for our spiritual strength. The “Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh” provide inexhaustible spiritual sustenance, from which alone we can gain the power to go forward. The Teaching Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá lay the foundation for the achievement of success and should be studied continuously for needed inspiration, guidance and enthusiasm for the sacrificial work at hand. The standard of our service is that of the soul-stirring activities of the Dawn-Breakers; those stalwart pioneers of the Faith in Persia. As the Guardian has recently pointed out, “pioneers” of the Faith, must arise in America to achieve complete success. “What is mostly needed nowadays is a Bahá’í Pioneer.”
Already reports of unprecedented and sustained services are being received from all over America, indicating that the American Bahá’í Community is responding to the urgent appeal of the Guardian to “teach the Cause and convey the Message.” A few instances are mentioned so they may give impetus to further effort on the part of all of us, and to illustrate some of the successful methods which have been used by Local Assemblies and individual believers.
A number of Assemblies are now actively engaged in introducing the Faith in one or more nearby cities, in accordance with our national program. For instance, Los Angeles, following up the tremendously successful “Bahá’í Day,” at the San Diego Exposition last October, is conducting an active study class in San Diego, with such recurring public lectures as may seem advisable.
The Philadelphia Assembly is sponsoring with success the establishment of the Faith in Atlantic City; Cincinnati sends groups to Covington and Louisville from time to time; Portland is working in Tacoma; Montreal is cooperating with the friends in St. Lambert; Teaneck is working several cities but concentrating particularly on Haworth; Phoenix is working in Glendale, Arizona; Binghamton is aiding the friends in Syracuse in their teaching efforts. Many other Assemblies have reported similar activities and plans.
| “THIS IS TRULY PROVIDENTIAL”
This new stage in the gradual unfoldment of the Formative Period of our Faith into which we have just entered—the phase of concentrated teaching activity—synchronizes with a period of deepening gloom, of universal impotence, of ever-increasing destitution and widespread disillusionment in the fortunes of a declining age. This is truly providential and its significance and the opportunities it offers us should be fully apprehended and utilized. Now that the administrative organs of a firmly established Faith are vigorously and harmoniously functioning, and now that the Symbol (i. e., the House of Worship) of its invincible might is lending unprecedented impetus to its spread, an effort unexampled in its scope and sustained vitality is urgently required so that the moving spirit of its Founder may permeate and transform the lives of the countless multitudes that hunger for its teachings. That the beloved friends in America, who have carried triumphantly the banner of His Cause through the initial stages of its development, will in a still greater measure prove themselves capable of meeting the challenge of the present hour, I, for one, can never doubt. Of the evidences of their inexhaustible vitality I am sufficiently and continually conscious. My fervent plea will not, I feel certain, remain unanswered. For them I shall continue to pray from all my heart.
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There are at present twenty-two Bahá’í Groups, several of which are steadily growing in strength and numbers. It is worthwhile to note that these groups exist in States only where there are Assemblies, indicating that the true unit for the diffusion of the Light of the New Day is the Spiritual Assembly. As all Assemblies fall in line with the national program of introducing the Cause in a new community, they will become channels for new growth and strength in the Cause as a whole.
A number of Assemblies having isolated believers in fairly close proximity have reported that they are cooperating with these friends in initiating Fireside meetings and furnishing fresh interest by occasional visits to these new groups.
San Francisco and Los Angeles report a new teaching venture whereby a group of Bahá’ís are prepared at a moment’s notice to go as a group to the home of any friend who has gathered a group and desires three or four short talks or an informal discussion of various aspects of the Faith.
New York has organized three teaching groups of young people whose services are available to nearby cities for week-end meetings.
Contiguous Assemblies may be interested in the teaching circuit plan of four Assemblies and one Group in upper New York. This plan provides for a special speaker once a month to talk directly on some phase of the Cause at a public meeting in each center on successive evenings. The important new contacts made and the possibilities of following them up have given great impetus to the teaching activities of all five cities.
Interesting reports have been received of excellent contacts with leading people and opportunities for indirect and direct teaching at religious, peace and social service conferences and conventions. Mr. David Hofman, recently of Los Angeles, took a very active part in the annual Institute of International Relations of the American Friends Service Committee at Whittier College, California, last summer. His ability to participate in every discussion attracted much notice and led to his appointment as chairman of a number of informal round tables. At the end of the first week, Mr. Hofman invited about a dozen people to his room to hear about the Bahá’í Faith, and forty-five appeared.
Spiritual Assemblies might do well to keep closely informed of the convention calendar of their cities and arrange for the attendance of two or three friends as delegates or auditors at such gatherings as are free from partisan objectives and are endeavoring to build up international, interreligious or interracial understanding. New constructive contacts with capable people can thus be made.
Bahá’í Teachers whose business permits them to move from city to city find large Groups of people hungering for the Message and many willing hands are raised to aid these bearers of Light in their service. One teacher reports that the hostess of the hotel
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at which she was staying became so
enthusiastic over the Cause that she
assumed full responsibility for announcing a public lecture, securing
the cooperation of an important
women’s club, and herself posting a
notice in the hotel lobby and arranging for the lecture hall. Similar reports are received from all traveling
Bahá’ís and very often they are able
to leave behind an enthusiastic study
group.
The radio is becoming a powerful instrument in attracting sympathetic souls to the Faith. Many invitations have been received to discuss phases of the Faith and particularly detailed talks descriptive of the Bahá’í Temple. A number of traveling Bahá’ís have been interviewed on educational programs, being able to make direct reference to the Teachings. A number of San Francisco friends spoke on a series of local programs devoted to educational subjects. The Berkeley Assembly has purchased two minutes of radio time weekly on a local station which provides announcement of the meetings and brief quotations from the Writings. Several Assemblies are enjoying free radio announcements of lectures and speakers.
The reports given above are only a few of those received, chosen to illustrate the progress of our Teaching Service. Others will be reported later. Each Assembly and Teacher should send the Teaching Committee regular and comprehensive reports so they may be digested for the benefit of all the friends.
Most important, let us again all realize, is the necessity of putting forth every possible effort. God cannot use us unless we are acting. Thus actively engaged in the “work of the Kingdom,” let us drink deeply of the ocean of spiritual sustenance available in such abundance in the “Gleanings”; seek inspiration and guidance in the Teaching Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and aspire to duplicate the episodes of the Dawn-Breakers.
- TEACHING COMMITTEE.
PRELIMINARY NOTICE 1936 ANNUAL CONVENTION[edit]
The Twenty-eighth Annual Convention will be held at Foundation Hall, Bahá’í House of Worship, Wilmette, on Thursday, April 30, Friday, May 1 and Saturday, May 2, 1936. A public meeting will be held on Sunday afternoon, and the incoming National Assembly will meet with members of National Committees, but no Convention sessions will be held on Sunday. The day will be left free for delegates and friends to enjoy informal social fellowship.
A Pre-Convention number of BAHÁ’Í NEWS will be published early in April, containing Annual Committee reports, list of participating communities and detailed information concerning the Convention. The Spiritual Assembly of Wilmette has been requested to serve as Housing Committee, and those wishing the Committee to find rooms and accommodations should write the Assembly secretary, Mrs. Anne W. Bartholomew, 1627 Forest Avenue.
The Convention Call was mailed to local Assemblies on February 14. Each Assembly is requested to report its election of a delegate or delegates as soon as possible. A blank ballot is to be mailed to each delegate on April 1.
COOPERATION WITH THE BAHA’I MAGAZINE OF GERMANY[edit]
The following words from the Guardian, through his secretary, dated Haifa, January 8, 1936 convey a request which the National Spiritual Assembly is happy to bring to the attention of the American friends. The members hope that a cordial response will be made to the desire of the N. S. A. of Germany and Austria that articles be sent to the editorial staff of Sonne der Wahrheit.
For its part, the National Assembly is offering to the Sonne der Wahrheit complete liberty to select whatever articles they wish from World Order Magazine. It will therefore not be necessary for any believer to send to Germany any duplicate copy of an article published in World Order.
Believers sending articles to the German magazine are to send them directly to Dr. Eugen Schmidt, Reinsburgstrasse 198, Stuttgart, Germany, and not to the American N. S. A.
“A letter just received from Dr. Eugen Schmidt, member of the German N. S. A. and also assistant editor of the Sonne der Wahrheit requests the Guardian to ask the friends to occasionally contribute articles for publication in that review, and thus help in raising its standard and in making it a more useful and effective organ for the spread of the Cause throughout Germany and Austria.
“The Guardian has promised Dr. Schmidt that he would ask your Assembly and also the British N. S. A. to encourage the believers, especially those who know German, to contribute articles for publication in the national magazine of the Cause in Germany which, together with the “World Order” are the only reviews of their kind in the western section of the Bahá’í world ...
“P. S. Any contribution in English, the Guardian believes, should be transmitted direct to Germany where the friends will be only too glad to translate and publish them in their magazine.”
BAHA’I SUMMER SCHOOLS[edit]
Preliminary Announcement[edit]
At this stage in the development of the Cause, the institution of the Summer School has unique importance, as the Guardian has emphasized in many letters. It is not only a great privilege but the bounden duty of every believer who can do so, to attend one of the three Summer Schools. The more who attend, the higher will become the standard and proficiency of the public teaching programs carried on by all local Assemblies and groups.
Green Acre[edit]
July 3-12: A regional conference, conducted by the N. S. A. or representatives of the Teaching Committee. Also: Bahá’í Youth School, to be conducted by representatives of the National Youth Committee.
August 17-30: Summer School, with the following four courses, Islám, World Order of Bahá’u’lláh, The Nature of the Manifestation, The Reality of Man. Two courses will be given daily, Monday to Friday, during the two weeks.
July 13-August 16: Round table discussions on important subjects. Detailed program will be announced later.
Geyserville[edit]
July 12-25: Summer School sessions. Subjects and leaders to be announced. All who plan to attend are requested to communicate with the Chairman of Housing Committee, Mrs. Ruth Westgate, Herald Hotel, San Francisco.
Louhelen Ranch[edit]
June 22-25: Youth Session. Subjects—The Bahá’í Life, Religion and Culture, Studies in the Qur’án.
June 27-July 5: Summer School, first general session. Subjects—Divine Power of the Administration, Studies in the Qur’án, Mysticism and the Bahá’í Teaching.
August 2-9: Summer School, sec-
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ond general session. Subjects—Laws
of the Higher Life, Religion and Culture, Divine Power of the Administration.
BAHA’IS AND WAR[edit]
A Statement by the National Spiritual Assembly*[edit]
One of the chief responsibilities of Bahá’ís in this transitional era is to grasp the principle upon which rests their loyalty to the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh in relation to their duty toward their civil government. This problem arises in its most difficult form in connection with our individual and collective attitude toward war.
Nothing could be more powerful than the Bahá’í teachings on the subject of Peace. Not only does Bahá’u’lláh confirm the teachings of all former Manifestations which uphold amity and fellowship between individual human beings, and the supremacy of love as the end and aim of mutual intercourse and association, but He likewise extends the divine law of Peace to governments and rulers, declaring to them that they are called upon to establish Peace and Justice upon earth, and uproot forever the dire calamity of international war.
Despite His Revelation, a most agonizing and excruciating conflict raged in Europe for four years, and since that war many other wars and revolutions have dyed the earth, while at present the heaven of human hope is black with the approach of a final world-shaking catastrophe.
What wonder that faithful Bahá’ís, abhorring and detesting war as insane repudiation of divine law, as destroyer of life and ruin of civilization, should now, in these fateful days, ponder how they may save their loved ones from the calamity of the battlefield, and how they may contribute their utmost to any and every effort aimed at the attainment of universal Peace?
Conscious of these heart-stirrings, and mindful of its responsibility toward all American believers, and particularly that radiant youth which would first of all be sacrificed in the event of a declaration of war by the government, the National Spiritual Assembly wishes to express its view upon the matter, in the hope that the result of its study of the Teachings and of the Guardian’s explanations will assist in bringing a unity of opinion and a clarification of thought among the friends.
Concerning the duty of Bahá’ís to their government, we have these words, written by Shoghi Effendi on January 1, 1929 (see “Bahá’í Administration,” page 152): “To all these (i.e., restrictive measures of the Soviet regimé) the followers of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh have with feelings of burning agony and heroic fortitude unanimously and unreservedly submitted, ever mindful of the guiding principle of Bahá’í conduct that in connection with their administrative activities, no matter how grievously interference with them might affect the course of the extension of the Movement, and the suspension of which does not constitute in itself a departure from the principle of loyalty to their Faith, the considered judgment and authoritative decrees issued by their responsible rulers must, if they be faithful to Bahá’u’lláh’s and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s express injunctions, be thoroughly respected and loyally obeyed. In matters, however, that vitally affect the integrity and honor of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, and are tantamount to a recantation of their faith and repudiation of their innermost belief, they are convinced, and are unhesitatingly prepared to vindicate by their life-blood the sincerity of their conviction, that no power on earth, neither the arts of the most insidious adversary nor the bloody weapons of the most tyrannical oppressor, can ever succeed in extorting from them a word or deed that might tend to stifle the voice of their conscience or tarnish the purity of their faith.”
In view of the fact that early Christians were persecuted because they refused to render military service, the question might be raised whether the above statement means that the Guardian includes refusal to bear arms as one of those matters which “vitally affect the integrity and honor of the Faith ... and are tantamount to a recantation of their faith and repudiation of their innermost belief”—a question the more important in that the early Christians preferred persecution to military service.
The answer to this question is that the Guardian instructs us that the obligation to render military duty placed by governments upon their citizens is a form of loyalty to one’s government which the Bahá’í must accept, but that the believers can, through their Nation Assembly, seek exemption from active army duty provided their government recognizes the right of members of religious bodies making peace a matter of conscience to serve in some non-combatant service rather than as part of the armed force.
The National Spiritual Assembly has investigated carefully this aspect of the situation, and has found that, whereas the government of the United States did, in the last war, provide exemption from military duty on religious grounds, nevertheless this exemption was part of the Statutes bearing directly upon that war, and with the cessation of hostilities the exemption lapsed. In other words, there is today no basis on which any Bahá’í may be exempted from military duty in a possible future conflict. The National Assembly, consequently, cannot at present make any petition for exemption of Bahá’ís from war service, for such petitions must be filed with reference to some specific Act or Statute under which exemption can be granted. The Assembly understands that, in the event of war, there will be some kind of provision for exemption enacted, but as far as Bahá’ís are concerned, no steps can be taken until this government declares itself in a state of war.
This explanation, it is hoped, will satisfy those who for some years have been urging that protection be secured for American Bahá’í youth.
On the other hand it must be pointed out that it is no part of our teaching program to attract young people to the Cause merely in order to take advantage of any exemption that may later on be officially obtained for duly enrolled Bahá’ís. The only justifiable reason for joining this Faith is because one realizes that it is a divine Cause and is ready and willing to accept whatever may befall a believer on the path of devotion. The persecutions which have been inflicted upon Bahá’ís so frequently make it clear that the path of devotion is one of sacrifice and not of ease or special privilege.
Another question encountered here and there among believers is what can Bahá’ís do to work for Peace? Outside the Cause we see many organizations with peace programs, and believers occasionally feel that it is their duty to join such movements and thereby work for a vital Bahá’í principle.
It is the view of the National Spiritual Assembly that activity in and for the Cause itself is the supreme service to world peace. The Bahá’í commun-
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* “The Guardian has carefully read the N. S. A.’s
statement on the Bahá’í attitude toward war, and
approves of its circulation among the believers.”—Shoghi Effendi, through his secretary, Haifa, January 10, 1936.
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ity of the world is the true example of
Peace. The Bahá’í principles are the
only ones upon which Peace can be
established. Therefore, by striving to
enlarge the number of declared believers, and broadcasting the Teachings of
Bahá’u’lláh, we are doing the utmost
to rid humanity of the scourge of war.
Of what use to spend time and money
upon incomplete human programs
when we have the universal program
of the Manifestation of God? The
firm union of the Bahá’ís in active devotion to the advancement of their own Faith—this is our service to Peace, as
it is our service to all other human
needs—economic justice, race amity,
religious unity, etc. Let non-believers
agitate for disarmament and circulate
petitions for this and that pacifist aim—a Bahá’í truly alive in this Faith
will surely prefer to base his activities
upon the foundation laid by Bahá’u’lláh, walk the path which the Master
trod all His days, and heed the appeals
which the Guardian has given us to
initiate a new era in the public teaching of the Message.
ON SLANDER AND BACKBITING[edit]
A Rule of Action Adopted by The National Spiritual Assembly[edit]
One of the most important of all divine commandments, specially stressed in the Bahá’í Teachings, is “Breathe not the sins of others so long as thou art a sinner. Shouldst thou transgress this command, accursed art thou and to this I testify.” (Hidden Words, 27.) Bahá’u’lláh further warns that: “Backbiting quencheth the light of the heart and extinguisheth the life of the soul.” (Gleanings, p. 265.) In His Will and Testament, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá adds: “According to the direct command of God, we are forbidden to utter slander.”
The Master further elucidates this vital subject in a Tablet wherein He states: “How blessed are these aims, especially the prevention of backbiting. I hope that you may become confirmed therein. Because the worst human quality and the most great sin is backbiting, more especially when it emanates from the tongues of the believers of God. If some means were divined (devised?) so that the doors of backbiting could be shut eternally and each one of the believers of God unsealed his tongue in the praise of the other, then the teachings of His Holiness Bahá’u’lláh would be spread, the hearts illumined, the spirits glorified and the human world would attain to everlasting felicity.” (Tablet to Dr. M. S. C., Washington, D. C. Translated August 12, 1913.)
In order to distinguish between legitimate reports to a Bahá’í administrative body which may affect the welfare of a Bahá’í community or an individual member thereof and unwarranted rumors, negative and hearsay gossip, slander and backbiting, intentionally or thoughtlessly circulated, the National Spiritual Assembly has adopted the following rule of action for the guidance of the Bahá’í Assemblies and communities under its jurisdiction.
- In no case should the friends speak to their fellow-believers in the community of any matter involving personal delinquencies, alleged or actual, of another member of the community, nor permit believers to speak to them of such matters. If a complaint is warranted, it should be brought directly to the local Assembly for consideration.
- A local Assembly should assume jurisdiction only when the acts or words of a member of the Bahá’í community are such as to threaten the integrity of the Cause itself, or to undermine the good name and reputation of a believer.
- This rule of action also applies for the protection of believers, from any discussion of their alleged personal shortcomings in Bahá’í communities other than that in which such believers reside.
- All such personal matters are strictly barred from discussion at the Nineteen Day Feasts.
- In applying the law of Bahá’u’lláh relative to the bringing of complaints and information to a local Assembly concerning the alleged or actual shortcomings of individual believers, the Assembly should not entertain or listen to any complaint based upon hearsay or rumor, but should, in all cases, insist that the complainant or witness speak only of such matters and present such evidence as he or she knows to be true, of his or her own knowledge.
- In the event that a local Assembly is unable to stop or prevent the continued discussion or circulation of criticisms and unfounded rumors after it has taken jurisdiction of the matter, it is to report such cases immediately to the National Spiritual Assembly. The National Spiritual Assembly, after careful investigation, will take vigorous action to remove the misunderstandings and misrepresentations that have arisen and render full justice to the individual believer or believers concerned.
The new World Order is and must
be held sacred and free from this
grave defect in human relationships,
which not only often inflicts unmerited
injury and suffering upon the individual but, more important, destroys
the solidarity of the Bahá’í community.
Whispering and backbiting is equivalent to separation among the friends
of God, and, in the final analysis, is
the will to harm and to alienate the
hearts.
The National Spiritual Assembly feels assured and confident that all the friends will make every effort to realize in their individual and community lives a greater love and unity of purpose, and be ever mindful of Bahá’u’lláh’s injunction: “Attribute not to any soul that which thou wouldst not have attributed to thee, and say not that which thou doest not. This is My Command to thee, do thou observe it.” (Hidden Words, 29.)
“O my servants! Deprive not yourselves of the unfading and resplendent Light that shineth within the Lamp of Divine Glory. Let the flame of the love of God burn brightly within your radiant hearts. Feed it with the oil of Divine guidance, and protect it within the shelter of your constancy. Guard it within the globe of trust and detachment from all else but God, so that the whisperings of the ungodly may not extinguish its light.” (Gleanings, pp. 325-326.)
INTERNATIONAL CELEBRATION OF NAW-RUZ BY BAHA’I YOUTH[edit]
A plan is afoot for a series of regional conferences of young Bahá’ís, to be scheduled throughout the Bahá’í world on March 22, 1936, the Sunday after our New Year. This idea, just conceived by the National Youth Committee, has already met with wide enthusiasm and the following American cities are mentioned as possible conference centers: Flint, Lima, Chicago, Urbana, Montreal, Boston, New Haven, New York, Washington, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Denver, Seattle, Vancouver, and Honolulu. In addition, invitations are being sent to young Bahá’ís in England, Australia, France, Germany, Syria, Iráq, India, Persia, Egypt, and other countries to join in this great demonstration of unity.
“Bahá’í Youth Look to the Future” is the subject of a suggested program for universal adoption, to include at
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least two sessions: a conference on
“Ways to Consolidate Bahá’í Youth”
and a public meeting on “The Ideals
of Bahá’í Youth.” In addition, each
conference will forward (through the N. S. A.) a message to Shoghi Effendi, signed by those Bahá’í youth
who are either voting members or are
registered with the local Assemblies.
This Bahá’í Youth Day is sure to bear results of wide scope and profound importance in a new spirit of unified action, and will undoubtedly win for the Cause an international publicity. In addition, it will emphasize the value of actual membership in the Bahá’í community. Every young Bahá’í will wish to participate not only in the conference discussions, but by adding his name to the worldwide message sent to our Guardian.
Letters of announcement will be sent to every Assembly, group and isolated youth in America. But meantime, preparations are under way, cities are volunteering as conference centers, and Bahá’í hospitality is being planned for the delegates. Decide now to attend one of these Conferences. Offer your help to the nearest youth Committee. Young Bahá’í, look to the future in the New Year!
- YOUTH COMMITTEE.
CONCERNING MEMBERSHIP IN NON-BAHA’I RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS[edit]
The instruction written by Shoghi Effendi concerning membership in non-Bahá’í religious organizations, published in the July, 1935 number of BAHÁ’Í NEWS, has brought forth some interesting and important communications from local Spiritual Assemblies and also from individual believers, to all of which the National Spiritual Assembly has given careful and sympathetic attention.
The National Assembly itself, on receiving that instruction, made it the subject of extensive consultation, feeling exceedingly responsible for its own understanding of the Guardian’s words and anxious to contribute to the understanding of the friends.
In October, 1935, the Assembly sent in reply to some of these communications a general letter embodying its thoughts on the subject, and a copy of that letter was forwarded to Shoghi Effendi for his approval and comment. His references to its contents, made in letters addressed to the National Spiritual Assembly on November 29 and December 11, 1935, are appended to this statement.
Now that Shoghi Effendi’s approval has been received, the National Assembly feels it desirable to publish, for the information of all the American believers, the substance of the October letter.
While so fundamental an instruction is bound to raise different questions corresponding to the different conditions existing throughout the Bahá’í community, the most important consideration is our collective need to grasp the essential principle underlying the new instruction, and our capacity to perceive that the position which the Guardian wishes us to take in regard to church membership is a necessary and inevitable result of the steady development of the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh.
This essential principle is made clear when we turn to Shoghi Effendi’s further reference to the subject as published in BAHÁ’Í NEWS for October, 1935—words written by the Guardian’s own hand.
In the light of these words, it seems fully evident that the way to approach this instruction is in realizing the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh as an ever-growing organism destined to become something new and greater than any of the revealed religions of the past. Whereas former Faiths inspired hearts and illumined souls, they eventuated in formal religions with an ecclesiastical organization, creeds, rituals and churches, while the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, likewise renewing man’s spiritual life, will gradually produce the institutions of an ordered society; fulfilling not merely the function of the churches of the past but also the function of the civil state. By this manifestation of the Divine Will in a higher degree than in former ages, humanity will emerge from that immature civilization in which church and state are separate and competitive institutions, and partake of a true civilization in which spiritual and social principles are at last reconciled as two aspects of one and the same Truth.
No Bahá’í can read the successive Word Order letters sent us by Shoghi Effendi without perceiving that the Guardian, for many years, has been preparing us to understand and appreciate this fundamental purpose and mission of the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh. Even when the Master ascended, we were for the most part still considering the Bahá’í Faith as though it were only the “return of Christ” and failing to perceive the entirely new and larger elements latent in the Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh.
Thus, in the very first of the World Order letters, written February 27th, 1929, Shoghi Effendi said: “Who, I may ask, when viewing the international character of the Cause, its far-flung ramifications, the increasing complexity of its affairs, the diversity of its adherents, and the state of confusion that assails on every side the infant Faith of God, can for a moment question the necessity of some sort of administrative machinery that will insure, amid the storm and stress of a struggling civilization, the unity of the Faith, the preservation of its identity, and the protection of its interests?”
Although for five years the Guardian had been setting forth the principles of Bahá’í Administration in frequent letters, in 1927 he apparently felt it necessary to overcome some doubts here and there as to the validity of the institutions the Master bequeathed to the Bahá’ís in His Will and Testament. The series of World Order letters, however, goes far beyond the point of defending and explaining their validity as an essential element in the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh—the Guardian vastly extended the horizon of our understanding by making it clear that the Administrative Order, in its full development, is to be the social structure of the future Civilization.
Thus, in that same letter quoted above, he wrote: “Not only will the present-day Spiritual Assemblies be styled differently in future, but will be enabled also to add to their present functions those powers, duties, and prerogatives necessitated by the recognition of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, not merely as one of the recognized religious systems of the world, but as the State Religion of an independent and Sovereign Power. And as the Bahá’í Faith permeates the masses of the peoples of East and West, and its truth is embraced by the majority of the peoples of a number of the Sovereign States of the world, will the Universal House of Justice attain the plentitude of its power, and exercise, as the supreme organ of the Bahá’í Commonwealth, all the rights, the duties, and
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responsibilities incumbent upon the
world’s future super-state.”
This passage stands as the keystone in the noble structure which Shoghi Effendi has raised in his function as interpreter of the Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh. The Master developed the Cause to the point where this social Teaching, always existent in the Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh, could be explained to the believers and given its due significance as the fulfilment of Bahá’í evolution. As the Guardian expressed it: “That Divine Civilization, the establishment of which is the primary mission of the Bahá’í Faith.” (World Order of Bahá’u’lláh, pages 3 and 4).
For us these words mean that a Bahá’í is not merely a member of a revealed Religion, he is also a citizen in a World Order even though that Order today is still in its infancy and still obscured by the shadows thrown by the institutions, habits and attitudes derived from the past. But since the aim and end has been made known, our devotion and loyalty must surely express itself, not in clinging to views and thoughts emanating from the past, but in pressing forward in response to the needs of the new creation.
That true devotion, which consists in conscious knowledge of the “primary mission,” and unified action to assist in bringing about its complete triumph, recognizes that a Bahá’í today must have singleness of mind as of aim, without the division arising when we stand with one foot in the Cause and one foot in the world, attempting to reconcile diverse elements which the Manifestation of God Himself has declared to be irreconcilable.
The principle underlying the Guardian’s instruction about membership in non-Bahá’í religious bodies has already been emphasized by Shoghi Effendi in another connection—the instruction about the non-political character of the Faith which he incorporated in his letter entitled “The Golden Age of the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh.” For example: “I feel it, therefore, incumbent upon me to stress, now that the time is ripe, the importance of an instruction which, at the present stage of the evolution of our Faith, should be increasingly emphasized, irrespective of its application to the East or to the West. And this principle is no other than that which involves the non-participation by the adherents of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, whether in their individual capacities or collectively as local or national Assemblies, in any form of activity that might be interpreted, either directly or indirectly, as an interference in the political affairs of any particular government.”
Again, when the question was raised as to membership in certain non-Bahá’í organizations not directly religious or political in character, the Guardian replied: “Regarding association with the World Fellowship of Faiths and kindred Societies, Shoghi Effendi wishes to reaffirm and elucidate the general principle that Bahá’í elected representatives as well as individuals should refrain from any act or word that would imply a departure from the principles, whether spiritual, social or administrative, established by Bahá’u’lláh. Formal affiliation with and acceptance of membership in organizations whose programs or policies are not wholly reconcilable with the Teachings is of course out of the question.” (BAHÁ’Í NEWS, August, 1933.)
Thus, not once but repeatedly the Guardian has upheld the vital principle underlying every type of relationship between Bahá’ís and other organizations, namely, that the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh is an ever-growing organism, and as we begin to realize its universality our responsibility is definitely established to cherish and defend that universality from all compromise, all admixture with worldly elements, whether emanating from our own habits rooted in the past or from the deliberate attacks imposed by enemies from without.
It will be noted that in the instruction published in July, 1935, BAHÁ’Í NEWS, the Guardian made it clear that the principle involved is not new and unexpected, but rather an application of an established principle to a new condition. “Concerning membership in non-Bahá’í religious associations, the Guardian wishes to reemphasize the general principle already laid down in his communications to your Assembly and also to the individual believers that no Bahá’í who wishes to be a whole-hearted and sincere upholder of the distinguishing principles of the Cause can accept full membership in any non-Bahá’í ecclesiastical organization.... For it is only too obvious that in most of its fundamental assumptions the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh is completely at variance with outworn creeds, ceremonies and institutions. During the days of the Master the Cause was still in a stage that made such an open and sharp dissociation between it and other religious organizations, and particularly the Muslim Faith, not only inadvisable but practically impossible to establish. But since His passing events throughout the Bahá’í world, and particularly in Egypt where the Muslim religious courts have formally testified to the independent character of the Faith, have developed to a point that have made such an assertion of the independence of the Cause not only highly desirable but absolutely essential.”
To turn now to the Guardian’s words published in October BAHÁ’Í NEWS: “The separation that has set in between the institutions of the Bahá’í Faith and the Islamic ecclesiastical organizations that oppose it ... imposes upon every loyal upholder of the Cause the obligation of refraining from any word or action that might prejudice the position which our enemies have ... of their own accord proclaimed and established. This historic development, the beginnings of which could neither be recognized nor even anticipated in the years immediately preceding ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s passing, may be said to have signalized the Formative Period of our Faith and to have paved the way for the consolidation of its administrative order.... Though our Cause unreservedly recognizes the Divine origin of all the religions that preceded it and upholds the spiritual truths which lie at their very core and are common to them all, its institutions, whether administrative, religious or humanitarian, must if their distinctive character is to be maintained and recognized, be increasingly divorced from the outworn creeds, the meaningless ceremonials and man-made institutions with which these religions are at present identified. Our adversaries in the East have initiated the struggle. Our future opponents in the West will, in their turn, arise and carry it a stage further. Ours is the duty, in anticipation of this inevitable contest, to uphold unequivocally and with undivided loyalty the integrity of our Faith and demonstrate the distinguishing features of its divinely appointed institutions.”
Nothing could be clearer or more emphatic. These words, asserting again the essential universality of the Cause, likewise repeat and renew the warning that the organized religions, even in America, will become bitterly hostile to the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, denounce and oppose it, and seek its destruction in vain effort to maintain their own “outworn creeds” and material power. Informed of this inevitable development, can a Bahá’í any longer desire to retain a connection which, however liberal and pleasing it now seems, is a connection with a potential foe of the Cause of God? The Guardian’s instruction signifies that the time has come when all American believers must become fully conscious of
[Page 8]
the implications of such connections,
and carry out their loyalty to its logical
conclusion.
Shoghi Effendi’s latest words are not merely an approval of the foregoing statement, but a most helpful elucidation of some of the problems which arise when the friends turn to their local Assemblies for specific advice under various special circumstances.
“The explanatory statement in connection with membership in non-Bahá’í religious organizations is admirably conceived, convincing and in full conformity with the principles underlying and implied in the unfolding world order of Bahá’u’lláh.” (November 29, 1933.)
“The Guardian has carefully read the copy of the statement you had recently prepared concerning non-membership in non-Bahá’í religious organizations, and is pleased to realize that your comments and explanations are in full conformity with his views on the subject. He hopes that your letter will serve to clarify this issue in the minds of all the believers, and to further convince them of its vital character and importance in the present stage of the evolution of the Cause.
“... In this case*, as also in that of suffering believers, the Assemblies, whether local or national, should act tactfully, patiently and in a friendly and kindly spirit. Knowing how painful and dangerous it is for such believers to repudiate their former allegiances and friendships, they should try to gradually persuade them of the wisdom and necessity of such an action, and instead of thrusting upon them a new principle, to make them accept it inwardly, and out of pure conviction and desire. Too severe and immediate action in such cases is not only fruitless but actually harmful. It alienates people instead of winning them to the Cause.
“The other point concerns the advisability of contributing to a church. In this case also the friends must realize that contributions to a Church, especially when not regular, do not necessarily entail affiliation. The believers can make such offerings, occasionally, and provided they are certain that while doing so they are not connected as members of any church.
There should be no confusion between the terms affiliation and association. While affiliation with ecclesiastical organizations is not permissible, association with them should not only be tolerated but even encouraged. There is no better way to demonstrate the universality of the Cause than this. Bahá’u’lláh, indeed, urges His followers to consort with all religions and nations with utmost friendliness and love. This constitutes the very spirit of His message to mankind.” (December 11, 1935.)
The National Spiritual Assembly trusts that the subject will receive the attention of local Assemblies and communities, and that in the light of the foregoing explanations the friends will find unity and agreement in applying the instruction to whatever situations may arise. In teaching new believers let us lay a proper foundation so that their obedience will be voluntary and assured from the beginning of their enrollment as Bahá’ís. In our attitude toward the older believers who are affected by the instruction let us act with the patience and kindliness the Guardian has urged.
IN MEMORIAM[edit]
Death proffereth unto every confident believer the cup that is life indeed. It bestoweth joy, and is the bearer of gladness. It conferreth the gift of everlasting life.—Bahá’u’lláh.
- Miss Ella J. Abeel, Pasadena.
- Mrs. Eleanor Terry, Atlantic City.
- Mrs. Fred Hale, New York.
- Mr. E. B. Rabb, San Francisco.
- Col. Henry S. Culver, Eliot.
- Mrs. Ellen M. Glines, Washington, D. C.
- Mrs. Gertrude Mattern, Washington, D. C.
THE BAHA’I FUNERAL SERVICE[edit]
A Letter from Shoghi Effendi[edit]
Regarding the Bahá’í funeral service: it is extremely simple, as it consists only of a congregational prayer to be read before burial. This prayer will be made available to the friends when the Aqdas is translated and published. In the meantime your N. S. A. should take great care lest any uniform procedure or ritual in this matter be adopted or imposed upon the friends. The danger in this, as in some other cases regarding Bahá’í worship, is that a definite system of rigid rituals and practices be developed among the believers. The utmost simplicity and flexibility should be observed, and a selection from the Bahá’í Sacred Writing would serve the purpose at the present time, provided this selection is not rigidly and uniformly adopted on all such occasions. —SHOGHI EFFENDI, through his secretary, Haifa, January 10, 1936.
LOCAL ASSEMBLY ROLL[edit]
St. Augustine, Florida, has been added to the Assemblies whose election on April 21, 1935 has been recognized.
Fruitport, Mich., has been removed from the Assembly Roll for the reason that the number of believers has become less than nine, some of the friends having moved to other cities.
PUBLISHING ANNOUNCEMENTS[edit]
The Bahá’í World, Vol. V—the biennial international record of the Faith for the period 1932-1934. The present volume is greatly enlarged. Its contents should be studied by all believers. $2.50.
World Order Magazine, bound volume—orders should be placed now for copies of the bound volume of World Order, from April, 1935 to March, 1936. For subscribers who supply the twelve magazines, the cost for binding is $1.25, postage additional. The cost of bound volume complete is $2.50, plus postage.
Hidden Words—a new supply has been obtained. Bound in paper, $0.25; in fabrikoid, $0.60.
The Oneness of Mankind—an addition to the free literature pamphlets, prepared at lowest possible cost as a help to traveling teachers, for mailing to special lists, and for distribution at public meetings. The latest pamphlet is by Hussein Rabbani. 100 copies for $1.50, net. The previous titles in the same series are: Homoculture, by Stanwood Cobb, and The Most Great Peace, by Marion Holley. These are also sold at $1.50 for 100 copies.
Twenty Lessons in Bahá’í Administration— an important addition to the Study Outlines which are so helpful to classes and also individuals in their study of the Teachings. $0.25, net.
_____
* A special case involving an aged believer, afflicted with illness, for whom severance of church
relations might have been too great a shock.
